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TDM #1
TDM #1
DREAMING
At first, there is nothing. You are nothing. Whatever existed before ceases to be if for a moment. Then, bit by bit, you start to become aware. Where there was not even darkness now is a dim haze, gentle and almost mist-like. You have limbs again and beneath your feet lays a path of light reaching out like limbs of a great tree beneath you, twisting and climbing out into the horizon.You take a step forward for what else is there to do? As you walk you begin to remember what it was you were doing before the nothingness; maybe something as simple as chatting with a loved one or close friend. Maybe you were just beginning a great journey or facing off against an old foe. Whatever it was, you get the distinct feeling that wherever and whenever that was, it is not here. Not now.
The path of light twists off into different directions. When you look up you can see that it is not a sky above you but the sky of everything, a grand cosmic tapestry littered with not mere stars but galaxies and clusters of galaxies that gleam like crystals against the velvety backdrop of space. Admire it for a moment, if you will. You don't know how long you will drift here, but you are not alone. Other wanderers will come and go as you bask together in the vastness of creation.
It seems to you that there are two paths to walk in this place, the light and dark beckoning in turn.
❖ THE LIGHT AT THE CENTER
One leads you to the center, splintered fragments folding together and colliding until only one thing remains: a light that speaks to you with the voice of all there is and has ever been. It greets you simultaneously as an old friend and as a lost child, both rejoicing in and mourning your arrival. You remember it too, somehow, with a feeling of complex nostalgia, as if returning to a place recalled from your distant childhood.
You’ll feel the same of the other wanderers that join you in the light; you know their faces, their voices, and as you reflect upon the world of your birth, you may witness fragments of theirs as well. You feel a comradery, then, a synchronicity of thought and emotion. Are the lives of others truly so different from your own? Or are you simply two hands of the same, greater being? Though some individualistic part of you may resist, the longer you spend in the light, the more you will find yourself becoming one with it.
Despite this welcoming call, no matter how eagerly your pursue its embrace, before you can fully submerge yourself in this oneness you will find yourself being torn away. As if seized by the impossibly long, cold arm of a creature unseen, you are plucked from the edge of fulfillment. The last thing you will remember is the sensation of your world, and all the others your experienced here, collapsing into nothingness.
❖ THE DARK OUTSIDE (CW: deep despair, ego death)
The other leads towards the outside, where the splintering becomes so great that the vestiges of reality can do nothing but collapse back into the abyss at the end of everything. As you wander to these barren outskirts, your thoughts will not be drawn to familiarity and oneness, but instead to memories of discontent and waste. The darker the path becomes, the more you find yourself dwelling on life’s disappointments and injustices, of the things about yourself and your world you find wanting.
If you see others here, at first they will feel frightening or contemptible, as if representing to you the worst experiences in your life. Even if they are someone you’re certain you know, that familiarity and affection will be stripped away in the face of the great emptiness before you. In the end, you were all the same. In the end, none of this was worth it. If you approach the end together, you may even form a kind of kinship around this acknowledgment, as the need for paranoia and hatred fades.
Slowly, the darkness encroaches, and you can see it devouring all the things you once knew. Memories of your home, of those you loved, dissolve into nothing, and you can only reflect on the barren emptiness in your heart as you see it happen. In your final moments, though, you feel peace with it all, knowing that there was no other way. You step from the edge of the last dwindling fragment of being and are greeted by silence.
❖ THE END
No matter which way you go, you are left with a single impression: you feel the world you came from die. It's a realization that transcends logic or sense; it weighs on your heart and leaves the vestiges of dark memories dancing in your thoughts like motes of ash. It's a memory of your home crumbling away into nothing as if consumed from within by rot. Returned to the void, all that's left to you is to be reborn.
REBIRTH
In a new time and place, you awaken. Stirring within a capsule of warmth and isolation your senses will slowly return, only to observe that you are trapped. Your body, as it wakes, is tangled in close, yours eyes unable to open, as if still within the womb. You are held tight in the embrace of something unyielding, so smothering that at first you only have the strength to struggle for moments at a time. Yet, as you persist, the pressure begins to relent in turn; it may take hours, but eventually you will find the purchase to push, to claw, to fight, and it will all give way.The chrysalis surrounding you bends like flesh and cracks like glass. It tears as you force your fingers through, finding liberation one inch at a time, until finally you have emerged. As if having undergone metamorphosis, you feel old and new all at once. You are weak, piteously so, but the markings and scars of your previous life remain. As you slump down upon the smooth cavern stone, you realize that you've just wrenched yourself free of gigantic crystal, though its hollow, shimmering form is now in pieces on account of your passing. Somewhere on your body, a shard of similar material remains embedded.
The cave itself looks almost like the inside of a geode, the walls and ceiling bedazzled with greyish crystal that shines with all the colors of the rainbow. While they vary wildly in size and shape, only a few have grown large enough to hold a form like yours, and you can see the one you just escaped isn't the only one bearing a passenger within. They may have already hatched, or they may still be lingering in stasis. Either way, there's enough time that you may have a chance to speak to yours unexpected peers, or to perhaps to struggle to find something to cover your naked body with. You feel the chill of the open air against your moisture laden skin, a distant light trickling in through the cavern's opening.
Make the most of this time. It won't be long before you're interrupted.
[Mod Note: If you don't want to deal with your character being naked in front of the others at that location, feel free to assume they emerge at a different time than the others of their legacy. Characters will be 'hatching' over a period of several hours.]
CAPTIVITY
It seems that someone was waiting for you to arrive, and not in the most friendly of ways. Though the specifics of who comes to get you will vary according to which legacy shrine your character awakens at, there are certain commonalities: most notably, how they are ostensibly here to capture and imprison you. It's easy for them, all considered. You can barely stand, so fresh out of your chrysalis, and whatever powers or special abilities you may have had will not answer your call. Even worse, your would be captors are well equipped for the job.
Each group arrives with several 'whips' made of unknown materials. What makes them so special only become obvious when one of them inevitable snakes its way around your body. Whether it be your ankle or your neck, being bound by these cords puts you under the influence of whoever is holding the other end of your leash. Your mind remains untouched, but you will find yourself physically incapable of performing physical actions that go against their will. While the possibilities are frightening, thankfully they all just seem to want one thing: for you to come along as a good little prisoner and to not cause any of them too much trouble.
The rest depends on your character's legacy:
❖ THE LOVER
The small island the shrine is built upon is approached by several modest boats with colorful sails. They carry what appears to be a collection of fearful fisherfolk and town guards. They are reluctant to speak with those being pulled out of the shrine or even look them in the eye. If they have their choice, the entire process will be done in silence. If you try too hard to upset them, the guards will sternly bring you to heel.
❖ THE CELEBRANT
The infrastructure of an entire festival ground seems to be built around this shrine, and as a result, there are an usual amount of people present. While most keep their distance, a few will engage with the local guards that arrive to capture the Aions, complaining that this is going to interfere with their preparations for the upcoming Lover’s Festival. They are pushed aside in short order, and the rest of the retrieval will be done in a stern but business-like manner.
❖ THE MARTYR
At first, those arriving to capture the Aions will be hesitant to even enter the barren crater this shrine is held within. Once the presence of the new arrivals becomes clear, however, they will run in as if crossing the no man’s land of a battlefield and complete their work with gusto. It appears to be mostly military folk and they seem to lack any patience or sympathy for those they capture.
❖ THE SOVEREIGN
The captors here seem to be a mixed bag, almost as if two separate squadrons have arrived at the same time. One is a gathering of people who give off the impression of mountain folk, while the others are well armored soldiers. Though it will be hard to make out the specifics, there seems to be some manner of disagreement between these two parties over what should be done, but the ones kitted out in full military attire win out in the end. By then, they are completely out of patience for further resistance.
❖ THE ARTISAN
The people here seem to have mixed feelings about your arrival. On one hand, it seems to be a moment of considerable trepidation, on the other, they seem unbearably curious about your nature. They will ask questions about any unusual features you have, or what your skills are, while others from the group try just as hard to shush them. Ultimately, they don’t seem that enthusiastic about having to capture you, but they also don’t seem to think they have much choice.
❖ THE INNOCENT
Among rolling hills of flowers, at first it seems as if this shrine may not be visited at all. Before the arriving Aions can escape it, though - naked and weakened as they are - a group of fairly normal looking townsfolk will arrive. They pause as they spot you near the shrine, almost like they are hesitating about coming at all. In the end, they will converge upon you and ask for you to please cooperate. They won’t hurt you, as long as you come with them.
❖ THE SEEKER
Armored soldiers are the ones to first pull you from the shrine, but as you arrive outside of it you'll see that it is situated at the edge of a great forest. An ancient observatory is build into the cliff face behind the shrine, and your captors are apparently in the process of negotiating with a series of robed individuals that have emerged from it. According to them, the soldiers kidnapping you are trespassing. Unfortunately, they are not the ones with weapons.
❖ THE WANDERER
When you first emerge from the shrine, it will appear as if you have just missed a skirmish. There are a few bodies scattered about, all wearing woodland armor made of leather and fur. The victors, it seems, come in the form of fully armored soldiers. Thoroughly irritated by the fight that just happened, they will not waste time on niceties. If you try to ask them what just happened, the best you may get is a sneer about ‘those damn forest people.’ You may spot a couple more bodies on the trail leading out of the forest as well.
❖ THE FIREBRAND
The first thing to be seen beyond the cavern entrance is a sheer drop into a raging canyon river far below you, with only a narrow path leading up the steep cliff face. It would be a difficult situation, even without black-cloaked warriors making their way down it to collect you. Struggle too much and you'll be at risk of being thrown into the chasm. These masked assailants are largely unmoved by your protests and will drag you the entire way up the cliff if you force them to. "Your soul will be claimed," they say.
❖ THE VISIONARY
The view from the mouth of the cavern is awe inspiring, revealing the foreign shapes of a world you've never seen before. Unfortunately, the altitude of this shrine means you will also be greeted with sharp wind and biting cold. Fortunately, or not, a party of mountaineers and three black-cloaked warriors will arrive to collect you. Despite their seeming inability to defy the orders of the warriors, the mountaineers will toss you some shoes and blankets for the trek down, even if they are taken away from you later. If the warriors speak at all, it's mostly in the form of ominous utterances.
❖ THE CHAMPION
Even if one were to stagger out of the shrine's cavern before being approached, the Aions arriving here will swiftly find themselves in a hopeless situation. Not only are there soldiers here to collect there is a moderately sized military barracks built around the shrine itself, and this particular squadron is not on your side. You will be swarmed before you can get far at all. There seems to be a mix of two squadrons here, some wearing heavy armor and red accents, while the others wear full face masks and dark cloaks.
Once you've been captured and pulled from the shrine, you will given a formless white gown made of moderately comfortable fabric, with sleeves reaching your elbows and its bottom reaching down past your knees. You will not be given pants or shoes. You're in for a journey, apparently - no matter who plucked you from the cave, most of the heavily armored soldiers in the prompts above will turn out to be 'Hylician soldiers', while the smaller number of black-robed warriors are referred to 'Achamites'. After the initial dealings with the shrines, all prisoners will be passed off to a squadron of Hylicians, though a few Achamites may follow along depending on the location.
Where are you all going? Back to Hylici, apparently.
Each group arrives with several 'whips' made of unknown materials. What makes them so special only become obvious when one of them inevitable snakes its way around your body. Whether it be your ankle or your neck, being bound by these cords puts you under the influence of whoever is holding the other end of your leash. Your mind remains untouched, but you will find yourself physically incapable of performing physical actions that go against their will. While the possibilities are frightening, thankfully they all just seem to want one thing: for you to come along as a good little prisoner and to not cause any of them too much trouble.
The rest depends on your character's legacy:
❖ THE LOVER
The small island the shrine is built upon is approached by several modest boats with colorful sails. They carry what appears to be a collection of fearful fisherfolk and town guards. They are reluctant to speak with those being pulled out of the shrine or even look them in the eye. If they have their choice, the entire process will be done in silence. If you try too hard to upset them, the guards will sternly bring you to heel.
❖ THE CELEBRANT
The infrastructure of an entire festival ground seems to be built around this shrine, and as a result, there are an usual amount of people present. While most keep their distance, a few will engage with the local guards that arrive to capture the Aions, complaining that this is going to interfere with their preparations for the upcoming Lover’s Festival. They are pushed aside in short order, and the rest of the retrieval will be done in a stern but business-like manner.
❖ THE MARTYR
At first, those arriving to capture the Aions will be hesitant to even enter the barren crater this shrine is held within. Once the presence of the new arrivals becomes clear, however, they will run in as if crossing the no man’s land of a battlefield and complete their work with gusto. It appears to be mostly military folk and they seem to lack any patience or sympathy for those they capture.
❖ THE SOVEREIGN
The captors here seem to be a mixed bag, almost as if two separate squadrons have arrived at the same time. One is a gathering of people who give off the impression of mountain folk, while the others are well armored soldiers. Though it will be hard to make out the specifics, there seems to be some manner of disagreement between these two parties over what should be done, but the ones kitted out in full military attire win out in the end. By then, they are completely out of patience for further resistance.
❖ THE ARTISAN
The people here seem to have mixed feelings about your arrival. On one hand, it seems to be a moment of considerable trepidation, on the other, they seem unbearably curious about your nature. They will ask questions about any unusual features you have, or what your skills are, while others from the group try just as hard to shush them. Ultimately, they don’t seem that enthusiastic about having to capture you, but they also don’t seem to think they have much choice.
❖ THE INNOCENT
Among rolling hills of flowers, at first it seems as if this shrine may not be visited at all. Before the arriving Aions can escape it, though - naked and weakened as they are - a group of fairly normal looking townsfolk will arrive. They pause as they spot you near the shrine, almost like they are hesitating about coming at all. In the end, they will converge upon you and ask for you to please cooperate. They won’t hurt you, as long as you come with them.
❖ THE SEEKER
Armored soldiers are the ones to first pull you from the shrine, but as you arrive outside of it you'll see that it is situated at the edge of a great forest. An ancient observatory is build into the cliff face behind the shrine, and your captors are apparently in the process of negotiating with a series of robed individuals that have emerged from it. According to them, the soldiers kidnapping you are trespassing. Unfortunately, they are not the ones with weapons.
❖ THE WANDERER
When you first emerge from the shrine, it will appear as if you have just missed a skirmish. There are a few bodies scattered about, all wearing woodland armor made of leather and fur. The victors, it seems, come in the form of fully armored soldiers. Thoroughly irritated by the fight that just happened, they will not waste time on niceties. If you try to ask them what just happened, the best you may get is a sneer about ‘those damn forest people.’ You may spot a couple more bodies on the trail leading out of the forest as well.
❖ THE FIREBRAND
The first thing to be seen beyond the cavern entrance is a sheer drop into a raging canyon river far below you, with only a narrow path leading up the steep cliff face. It would be a difficult situation, even without black-cloaked warriors making their way down it to collect you. Struggle too much and you'll be at risk of being thrown into the chasm. These masked assailants are largely unmoved by your protests and will drag you the entire way up the cliff if you force them to. "Your soul will be claimed," they say.
❖ THE VISIONARY
The view from the mouth of the cavern is awe inspiring, revealing the foreign shapes of a world you've never seen before. Unfortunately, the altitude of this shrine means you will also be greeted with sharp wind and biting cold. Fortunately, or not, a party of mountaineers and three black-cloaked warriors will arrive to collect you. Despite their seeming inability to defy the orders of the warriors, the mountaineers will toss you some shoes and blankets for the trek down, even if they are taken away from you later. If the warriors speak at all, it's mostly in the form of ominous utterances.
❖ THE CHAMPION
Even if one were to stagger out of the shrine's cavern before being approached, the Aions arriving here will swiftly find themselves in a hopeless situation. Not only are there soldiers here to collect there is a moderately sized military barracks built around the shrine itself, and this particular squadron is not on your side. You will be swarmed before you can get far at all. There seems to be a mix of two squadrons here, some wearing heavy armor and red accents, while the others wear full face masks and dark cloaks.
Once you've been captured and pulled from the shrine, you will given a formless white gown made of moderately comfortable fabric, with sleeves reaching your elbows and its bottom reaching down past your knees. You will not be given pants or shoes. You're in for a journey, apparently - no matter who plucked you from the cave, most of the heavily armored soldiers in the prompts above will turn out to be 'Hylician soldiers', while the smaller number of black-robed warriors are referred to 'Achamites'. After the initial dealings with the shrines, all prisoners will be passed off to a squadron of Hylicians, though a few Achamites may follow along depending on the location.
Where are you all going? Back to Hylici, apparently.
WAITING
After you've been handed off to the the Hylician military, you have a long road ahead of you. Loaded up onto carts, and then eventually onto river borne boats, the people collected at the shrines will all be brought to a forest in the center of Horos. Along the way, the squadron ferrying you will combine with others from neighboring shrines, more and more captives arriving in your group the closer to your destination you get. Along the way you will be fed and watered well enough (though only with military rations), and at night you will be given flimsy bedrolls to sleep around the fire with. Captives will be under constant watch by the Hylician guard, and anyone who shows any signs of resistance will be required to be bound by one of those magic whips, usually around the ankle or wrist. The rest of the trip is spent being pulled along in carts or the storage bays of boats. After the groups start converging, captives of the same legacy will not necessarily be kept together.
The final muster point of the Hylicians and their captives will be among forest ruins. For what purpose you have arrived they will not say, but the entire group will be camping there until preparations are complete. Sadly, you won't be allowed much space to explore - not without being bound and under watch. If you've behaved yourself it's possible to move about the central ruins, but only if the guards are confident they'll be able to wrangle you when necessary. It does allow for moderately private conversations along the pillars and walls of the ruins, but venturing out into the forest itself is definitely out of the question.
From beginning to end, characters will spent about two weeks in transit and waiting in the ruins. To what end is yet to be seen, but if you listen closely, you may hear whispers of a 'ritual space' being prepared.
QUESTIONS
Are everyone's homeworlds really gone?
That's a complicated issue, and while the fate of their world is not without hope, they may certainly get the impression its been destroyed from the dream they had. Alternatively, they may refuse to believe what they felt and attempt to dismiss it as only a vision. More about this situation will be revealed as the game goes on.
Can I only experience one end of the dream sequence prompt?
Characters may experience one ending, both endings, or neither. If they experience both they will struggle to recall which came first or which feels the most 'true' to them, as both will simultaneously be the thought they are reborn with. If your character refuses to pursue either path they can simply linger in the middle until the infinite worlds above them start being extinguished one by one, eventually expelling them into darkness in a similar style to the light prompt. Which dreams they experience will not dictate their intial sect affiliation.
Is it possible to pull another character back from the end of the light or darkness dreams?
Yes! If your character is able to resist the pull of either end, they will have the chance to try to pull another character back from the edge of the abyss or the edge of oneness. Whether or not they succeed is entirely up to the other character, though.
Do you come out of the chrysalis wet?
For most intents and purposes it's the same experience as hatching out of a real butterfly chrysalis, so yes, a bit.
Can my character resist the influence of the whips?
Those possessed of particularly strong wills may be able to struggle with the whip's control in brief spurts, but not long enough to make a full escape attempt. They may be able to take an impotent swing at one of the guards or fight against being pulled along, though. Naturally, doing this will indicate to the Hylicians that you are a problem, and their handling of you will become harsher the more it occurs.
How cruel will the Hylicians be to the player characters?
The Hylician military are not friendly people and come across as being a bit callous even at the best of times. However, unless you provoke them, they will be primarily focused on just getting the job done with as few interruption as possible. If your character makes a habit of pissing them off, either by constantly fighting back or just by being persistently obnoxious, their treatment will get worse. If driven to it, they may take the opportunity to take out their frustrations on particularly troublesome prisoners, via physical punishment, humiliation, or deprivation.
That's a complicated issue, and while the fate of their world is not without hope, they may certainly get the impression its been destroyed from the dream they had. Alternatively, they may refuse to believe what they felt and attempt to dismiss it as only a vision. More about this situation will be revealed as the game goes on.
Can I only experience one end of the dream sequence prompt?
Characters may experience one ending, both endings, or neither. If they experience both they will struggle to recall which came first or which feels the most 'true' to them, as both will simultaneously be the thought they are reborn with. If your character refuses to pursue either path they can simply linger in the middle until the infinite worlds above them start being extinguished one by one, eventually expelling them into darkness in a similar style to the light prompt. Which dreams they experience will not dictate their intial sect affiliation.
Is it possible to pull another character back from the end of the light or darkness dreams?
Yes! If your character is able to resist the pull of either end, they will have the chance to try to pull another character back from the edge of the abyss or the edge of oneness. Whether or not they succeed is entirely up to the other character, though.
Do you come out of the chrysalis wet?
For most intents and purposes it's the same experience as hatching out of a real butterfly chrysalis, so yes, a bit.
Can my character resist the influence of the whips?
Those possessed of particularly strong wills may be able to struggle with the whip's control in brief spurts, but not long enough to make a full escape attempt. They may be able to take an impotent swing at one of the guards or fight against being pulled along, though. Naturally, doing this will indicate to the Hylicians that you are a problem, and their handling of you will become harsher the more it occurs.
How cruel will the Hylicians be to the player characters?
The Hylician military are not friendly people and come across as being a bit callous even at the best of times. However, unless you provoke them, they will be primarily focused on just getting the job done with as few interruption as possible. If your character makes a habit of pissing them off, either by constantly fighting back or just by being persistently obnoxious, their treatment will get worse. If driven to it, they may take the opportunity to take out their frustrations on particularly troublesome prisoners, via physical punishment, humiliation, or deprivation.
Howl // Howl's Moving Castle // The Celebrant
Hours pass before Howl feels the sensation of air on his fingers. It makes him feel triumphant and panicked all at once; as happy as he'll be to get out of this... whatever he's been stuck in, he somehow knows that he will not have any idea where he is once he's out. Ingary is gone. He doesn't know why or how but he knows. Shards of crystal clatter to the floor as he frees his head, gasping air into his lungs. As he feared, he has no idea where he is, but the need to free himself keeps him from contemplating this disturbing situation much more than that.
It isn't until he's sprawled out on the ground, shivering and exhausted, that reality starts to truly set in. Despite being so bizarre, this is no dream. There's no use trying to conjure himself some clothing, or attempting any other spells for that matter, as he can tell without trying that no magic will come to him.
Could he have been attacked, perhaps? Is he under the thrall of some very elaborate curse? That has to be impossible. No wizard could cast something this all-encompassing, this elaborate and convincing - not even with a contracted demon's help.
The thought is once again pushed aside when Howl realizes he hears distant voices. No, not just voices - the jingling of broken bits of crystal hitting the ground. ]
a. helping hand
Can you hear me?
[ Howl can only get so close to the partially-hatched person, considering the bareness of his feet and the sharpness of the broken shards littering the ground. He hugs himself, trying to stay warm, and paying no mind to his lack of clothing. It seems that they're all about to get quite familiar with each other, in a certain type of way.
Frowning at the treacherous-looking floor, he sweeps some of the glass-like fragments away with the side of his foot and takes a step forward. Maybe they can't hear him, much less answer him, or maybe they can. Surely they'll make some kind of signal at a minimum, right? And if they don't, well, he might just have to risk getting closer to help them escape. They don't look so good - although, he's sure he looked dreadful as he was escaping and continues to do so now. ]
b. camp
[ The flimsy white robe is better than nothing, but it brings Howl no relief. He had no intention of cooperating with any of the soldiers, and that had earned him a swift, sedating lash from one of their whips. With that, the "conversation" was over before it'd even begun. After a few more whip-bindings, which eventually became interspersed with persuasion of the painful variety, he's been forced to accept that there's no point in resisting. (At the moment.)
Now, after a few days of travelling and merging with other groups, he lays on his bedroll among the other white-robed hatchlings circled around the campfire. Exhaustion has further mellowed his belligerent attitude. For the first time since he left the shrine, he finds himself willing to talk, if only to try to calm his own nerves. ]
Are you cold?
[ He keeps his voice low, not wanting to give any of the soldiers an opportunity to eavesdrop. Howl's marble-like blue eyes are fixated on the person beside him, to whom the question was posed, but his expression is otherwise blank. ]
We could pull closer to the fire. I doubt our wardens will scold us for that.
c. wildcard
(or, tag him! and feel free to assume/handwave any other legacy for A!)
b!
They seriously get mad over everything... [ Which is an exaggeration, but she gets the sense this person is also in the mood for complaining about their predicament. She gives a long, woe-is-me sigh, rolling over onto her stomach to better meet the man's eyes. ] Do you really think it's fine? I don't want them to think I'm gonna like, steal a log from the fire and throw it or something.
[ After enough acting out, she's become a little afraid again of getting in trouble; there's no telling if worse punishment awaits if she keeps doing what she's not supposed to. At present, she's resigned herself to just laying there, unmoving. ]
no subject
I'll try it first, if you're worried. [ Pushing himself up from the ground, arms and back aching, he moves into a seated position on the flimsy bedroll. As he settles, he risks a glance towards the soldiers tasked with keeping watch over them. ]
no subject
...I'll feel bad if you're the only one who gets in trouble. I'll feel like I put you up to it!
[ Normally, it would be her style to be a little more selfish, but right now? They're all on the same side; in the dark, against way more powerful captors. If she can show a little loyalty to her fellow prisoners, then it'll be more beneficial to her down the road.
So she, too, pushes herself up to kneel, scooting carefully to the edge of her bedroll so she can get her fingers around it. When she speaks again, it's in an extra hushed, extra over-dramatic stage whisper. ]
I don't think those dummies are looking, anyway. Let's just scoot up while we can. My hands are freezing!
a.
If it's true -- Jesus, Ellie doesn't want to know what the hell they're meant to take away from this. Once everything is said and done, maybe she and Howl can pretend like they totally met some other, not-quite-mortifyingly-naked-and-crystallized way. That would be real cool.
It isn't like she has the strength nor presence of mind to be worried about it much right now; the sensation of being trapped, of being cocooned in foreign substances and feeling raw in a way she doesn't understand takes center stage. She's been trying to get free for a while to middling success -- there's a hefty chunk of crystal clawed at and close to providing an opening where her hands rest at chest level, but her last blind go at it resulted in wearing herself out and a brief stint of something approaching unconsciousness. Hearing someone's voice on the other side of her makeshift cage has Ellie's eyes opening, slowly; her eyelids are so fucking heavy. Everything is heavy.
But seeing the figure of a person, of someone -- someone she can't identify as friend or foe -- seems to light a renewed fire in her. Her body stretches in its confines with a sharp jolt, and her slender fingers are clawing at the almost-hole with a vengeance. Maybe if he goes at it from the other side...? ]
no subject
He takes long paces towards the crystal, ignoring the fragments that scratch his toes and poke the soft arches of his feet like merciless lego pieces. Clasping the side of a loose chunk of crystal with both hands, he pulls on it. When it doesn't come loose, he starts to push it back and forth, trying to wiggle it free instead. This works. One edge lifts up and fluid dribbles from the open crack. ]
Come on! You've got it! [ as he yanks on the crystal, he keeps calling out to the person inside. ] Just a bit more, you've got it!
no subject
Like an egg shattering, it comes apart; instead of spilling yolk, it is spilling Ellie unceremoniously forward with a rush of unrecognizable liquid, scattering fragments of broken crystal upon the cold grounds beneath. Hopefully... Howl had seen it coming, perhaps had time to brace himself for the suddenness of its give. Even more hopefully, he's not too weak to do anything about it either way -- but out tumbles Ellie, carried forward with the momentum of her 'chrysalis' giving way. Whether she has the cushion of her would-be savior or the hard floor to greet her... she's free. ]
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Howl lets out a pained yelp as the tiny sharp fragments he'd been trying not to step on dig into his naked back, drawing blood with the help of the extra weight on top of him. He'd wrapped his arms around the woman, instinctively grabbing her as they fell; as they lay on the ground in the aftermath of their fall, the echo of tinkling of broken crystal fades away and is replaced with silence.
Ow. That smarts. He can tell he hasn't been grievously wounded, but it still hurts like hell. Panting, he tries to brush away the crystal beside him before gently roll the stranger off his body and onto the floor. ]
...That was not intentional, I assure you. Are you alright?
A - feel free to stay in ac!
His consciousness isn't quite with him yet, but the panic, Oh, the panic. That's here and right at the forefront.
His tail thrashes, his claws extend, his body forces him to smash into the barrier with his horns. It takes a minute, an eon of desperate struggling, and a well timed claw breaches the walls.
He can't see, not really, but he knows that something, everything, is wrong here.
He fights his way out of his chrysalis, falling to the floor in an exhausted lump, dusty purple skin covered in a writhing, living tattoo of roses and thorns.
Can he hear Howl?
As he breathes heavily and looks up at the naked person above him, he nods, but he looks uncertain about it.
He tries to talk, but his voice refuses to answer his call.
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"Aghhh," he hisses, wincing one eye shut and nearly falling over from the startle. He'd wanted to catch the person as they fell, if only to keep them from landing on any pointy crystal fragments themselves, but his attention was distracted at the key moment. Great job, Howl.
"Are - are you alright?" he pants. Getting back to it, he kneels beside the stranger and offers to help them flip onto their back. "Deep breaths - you're alright."
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Mayhaps it would be better to take this stranger's help. Gingerly, he takes the other man's hand to get himself situated.
Oh for fu- why is he naked? He closes his eyes, huffing put a frustrated breath.
Before he moves much more Eikarr uses his tail to deftly sweep the majority of debris from them, the golden bangles that hang from it clinking softly as he does so.
"I-" he clears his throat, almost choking but managing to take a deep breath and stopping it. "I'm not sure about alright?" He replies.
The last thing he'd known was being trapped in the Fey Wilds, serving his Patron, the Lady of Roses. He can't feel her overbearing presence here and he's not sure if that's a good or a bad thing yet.
"Where are we?"
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"We appear to be in some sort of... cave?" he says as he sits on the stone floor to check the bottom on his foot. It's still damp from his own hatching, but aside from some redness, the skin isn't broken. What a relief.
"Are you hurt," he asks as he sits back up. He'll try his first question again.
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He really can't feel the weaves of Faerun here, and though there's the Lady's magic in his tattoos as it always is, She is not watching.
How odd.
"If we are still on the Material Plane, it's in no location I've ever been before," he mumbles to himself.
"Am I hurt? Ah,"
It's then that he notices that the cuts are fairly deep, and that they're perhaps leaking a bit more blood than is advisable. He grunts, dredging up the small amount of magic he has and tries to concentrate it. He hums a single word in Abyssal as his Healing Word goes out, weak though it is, it manages to staunch some of the bleeding.
His bright blue eyes look over Howl, and easily notices the similar cuts on his body. He offers his hand out, gesturing to the wounds.
"If you'd like?"
b
It's harder to see with him being more in the dark than in the light of the fire, but one could make out the dirt on the white gown and the bruising on his skin. He had not been very amiable and the soldiers weren't kind in return. He can tell that the other also hadn't been particularly willing either. At the very least, Joonghyuk will be a bit more patient with the other and make small talk if that's the case.] I chose to be farther away. As for them; I don't care if they get mad at us or not.